A Facebook Phone Cometh? We’ll Find Out Tomorrow
Facebook is slated to make an Android-related announcement tomorrow at its Menlo Park, California headquarters, which is expected to include a partnership with a phone manufacturer to deeply integrate the social network on a smartphone. Whatever the news, we’ll bring you all the details here as they unfold live.
A number of reports over the past week indicate the social network will unveil Android software called “Facebook Home” on a phone made in partnership with handset maker HTC. Despite having previously denied that it is building a Facebook phone, speculation has long brewed that the world’s largest social network is doing so, or at least partnering with an existing handset maker to make Facebook a more integral part of the device. The invitation to the press conference, which says, “Come see our new home on Android,” makes it clear that whatever is unveiled, Google’s mobile software will play a big part.
Facebook has been doubling down on its mobile efforts lately (see “How Facebook Slew the Mobile Monster”), as more and more of its users interact with the site via smartphones and tablets–a big change from the laptop and desktop computers that were the norm when the social network emerged in 2004. Since last May, it has gone from bringing in hardly any revenue from its mobile apps to reporting $305 million from mobile device ads in the October-December quarter, and it’s clearly hungering for other ways to increase revenue.
Tune in tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific time for more details as they unfold, including commentary from the Facebook executives who are making the announcement!
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